Christening dress for 2010

This christening dress has taken over a year of working off and on to create and is a true labour of love.  The full skirt is a true full pleated circle when set out

The hat is an exceptional and pleasant way to create a bonnet that looks both vintage and very modern,....the self gathers of lace at the front and the ruffle on the top set if off beautifully.

Angel of Christmas

Add lace collage of flowers over shoulder and down front of dress. I also added small beads using tacky glue to the neckline along with one single rose. I allowed a half metre section of ribbon to fall down the front of the dress. I have yet to find my wedding doves, and when I do there will be one placed in her hand.

Back of angel showing wings added with stitches and tacky glue as well as one single flower to the centre of the wings.

Angel is now complete and ready to take her place of honour on the top of your tree, or Christmas display.

Pattern is a gift, and a gift is a present that you give someone to make them happy and is not to be sold as a pattern.

(c) Linda Boudreau - Bunnies & Lace 2009

Bridal Pillow Finished

This is a bridal pillow that I have designed and made for a friend who has her grandson getting married in Mexico.

I was asked to make a larger pillow than normal so it could be used later so this one is twelve inches in diameter excluding the lace.

My largest challenge was the names. I ended up placing them on fine linen and then bordering them with hand rusched bridal satin and dotted them with pearls. I then went in and added some rosettes and floating hearts.

Most of the silk ribbon work in the centre fills a six inch diameter spot and has some teardrops added to the large ribbons 15 and 35 mm and small hearts as well as pink/blush 7 mm gathered roses and 7 mm over dyed green ribbon for leaves. I then used a green and added baby's breath and used mill hill beads to put on the end.

I also added beads to the bridal motifs then were added and added different collages of lace and beads to them as well as silk ribbon roses in large with floating teardrops.

The large six inch lace section is gathered and pleated by hand and attached from the back, with pearls securing it to the pillow top.

Swags of bridal satin ribbon are held onto the four corners with satin rosette ribbons and beads.

The pillow inside is made of batiste and the moire' is also back with the same batiste fabric so this pillow can be used after the ceremony.

Small bridal satin ribbons hold the rings on and floating hearts fall from the centre know with a cascade of pearls.

I do hope the new bride to be enjoys this pillow as making a larger than normal one for me was a bit challenging.

The beauty of champagne crocheted with the everlasting love of pineapple crochet and combined with the shell stitch has turned this work of art by Leisure Arts into a piece of art that I would do again and again.

I must admit that the pattern is very simple until you get to the pineapples and then you have to watch each row, but the ravelling and re=crocheting were well worth the effort, this is my favourite by far. It will be lined with an antique wwhite slip. Both of the gowns on this blog are true labours of love as the time involved is starting from one ball of thread to completion.

Handknit baby set for my heirloom collection. Started several years ago and just completing today. I also notice I will have to add the ribbons again as the hat is inside out. The things we do when we don't like finishing in a hurry.

UFO Challenge - Aside from doing normal shortening of dd's jeans and putting tops on curtains I pulled out a couple of angels that were nearing completion prior to Christmas. I also designed a little ring ' bear ' for dd to take back with her for a neighbour getting married. I made a little New Brunswick tartan bow tie, added some large feathered wings, and a collage of metallic and silver ribbons to his paw pad. It was a purchased bear and I hope to take pics of it before they leave and share on the site. This is for the child of the couple getting married who is under six months old to carry in his arms at his parent's wedding. I took the hint of the finished bear from Victoria Adams Brown using a finished tasselled cushion for a ring bear pillow, so I asked dd to purchase a white medium sized bear. It is adorable. Normally I would have made a bear, but the little one would not have been able to cuddle it after as it would have been covered with sre and beads.

This velvet angel very simplistic is very easy to make and makes a nice gift for those you love. I used the porcelaine hands and arms and a set of purchased wings.

I also used a thread cone ( large ) for a base and covered it with fabric in white. I made an underskirt by cutting a piece of fabric the height x circumference plus 6 inches. A hem of five inches in allowed in the bottom, and the top is gathered to fit around the cone using a casing.

Velvet is cut and gathered in the same way with the addition of very special lace. Arms are made using gathered lace and the bodice is highlighted with satin and silk ribbons as is the boquet she is holding.

This is a picture of a doily that I have designed for my mother-in-law for her birthday. I used a pattern in a challenge for one triangle and then added the edging. I went back in and used a three- dimensional butterfly, as well as some roses and Irish crochet scrolls. The little picture sitting ont he side was made with leftover fabrics and ribbons and I call it " Carnival", as the ribbon ties on the base of the flowers remind me of " Mardi Gras ". Hand-dyed ribbons on this piece were dyed by Victoria Clayton.

Now I am off to see what can be done with some tracings I made last night of a new purse design for myself. I also was fortunate when I was out this morning for a hair style that I stopped into the local fabric store and got enough camoflage fleece to do seat covers for dh's jeep. Last weekend I surprised him and myself with a lined waterproof wheelcover.......and all from just using the pattern of an older one.

I truly love to sew, be it whatever form. I love to read to enrich my mind, and if this blog in any way encourages you to do either, it has met my personal goal.

Have a great day and " keep on stitching, one stitch at a time and soon you too will have more and more " Labours of Love ."

The above images are photos of work that sit on a padded bench at the end of my hallway. They remind me to keep stitching and to be creative and it brightens a rather dark spot. As you can see there is a fan cusion to the back right on the first picture. This was a kit of the month from http://www.ribbonsmyth.com as well as the needlecase in the lower right hand side of the picture with the large gorgeous green bow. These were wonderful to work on and very well explained.

In the foreground is a pin puff that I received as part of an exchange pin puff group on the original silkribbon embroidery group and I have cherished this. It is very large and has gorgeous shadown work on this as well as shadow applique. These techniques are wonderful to me and I have used them in the past, and I am so pleased to have this. The back has a pin back so that I can wear it, and there is a hanger for scissors on the bottom. I have yet to put a pin in this little jewel, but looking at it now, it sure is sparking my interest in shadown applique again. I need some new nightgowns and this would be perfect, let's see what happens in the next week or so.........Something simple can look oh so elegant when designed with just a touch of luxury.

The picture of the little pastel peach heart has a footprints pin in it and it reverses to a gorgeous oriental gold damask on the back. This is in memory of our son Nichoas Patrick whom we lost shortly after birth, but is still apart of our hearts and lives. It shows the purest of white roses and flowers and the footprints represent the steps that, we as a family, shared in the healing process. It really does work with needle and thread. The struggle to go on can sometimes be so great, but when we look at reality and realism within, it is very easy to be pleased with what one has than to grieve for the past, but we still also have the ability to make sure that the loss is never forgotten. When you stop hurting, you stop remembering, and " When this you see, remember me ". means a family cared and still cares.